Banks, legislators’ accounts under scanner in Jharkhand RS polls

Ranchi, April 9 (IANS) Some banks and legislators whose roles came under suspicion in the now countermanded Rajya Sabha polls for two seats in Jharkhand are under the scanner of the Income Tax (IT) department, said a source Monday.

According to an IT source, the banks situated in Jamshedpur region have been asked to provide details of withdrawal of money. The focus is the account number of independent candidate R.K. Agrawal and his relatives who live in Jamshedpur, the source said.

The account number of legislators who evoked suspicion are also under the scanner of the IT department. Around 15 legislators’ roles are under the scanner for alleged horse trading in the Rajya Sabha polls.

On the directive of the Jharkhand High Court, the CBI is likely to take over the case for investigation. The state high court last week, while dismissing a petition challenging the Election Commission’s order countermanding voting for two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand, had asked the EC to get the horse trading charges probe by a specialized central agency like CBI.

After the high court order, the Chief Election Commission S.Y. Quraishi had said they would write for a CBI probe into the horse trading allegations.

The poll panel had recommended to President Pratibha Patil to cancel the notification for the two Rajya Sabha seats after Rs.2.15 crore in cash was seized from a car on the outskirts of Ranchi on polling day March 30. The money was seized from an Innova car coming to Ranchi from Jamshedpur. It was suspected to be payoffs for getting a favourable vote from some legislators.

Five candidates, including two independents, were in the fray. The five candidates are Sanjiv Kumar of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Pradeep Balmuchu of the Congress, Praveen Kumar Singh of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P), and two independents - R.K. Agarwal and Pawan Kumar Dhut.

Yogendra Sao, a Congress legislator, last week claimed that he was offered Rs.50 lakh to become a proposer of a candidate and Rs.2 crore to cast his vote.

The Jharkhand BJP has demanded that the CBI should probe the Rajya Sabha polls in the state since the state’s creation and how independent candidates won the polls in the past.